The disconnect in the community sector - Measuring our impact

Measuring the community sector's social impact has progressed in the last decade, but it isn't perfect. Our sector's trust has grown too. This measurement is core to the success of our organisations, but it has a long way to go.

First of all, measuring social impact varies greatly on the area of work we're contributing. For a foundational look at measuring social impact, look at the Guide for Social Impact, created by the Centre of Social Impact Australia.

Measurement in the community sector derives from an outcome-based approach to our goals, and is respected by Federal & State Governments, Community Services and businesses. These outcomes are aligned with benefiting the society in which we live.

All of these stakeholders have invested large amounts of time over the last decade consulting, designing and publishing outcomes frameworks. There is general alignment around the key domains which need to be focused on at the government level. And the social sector organisations understand they need to align their activities to government outcome domains to receive funding and be commissioned to carry out services on the government’s behalf.

The disconnect between government and the social sector begins to appear when it comes to what indicators are being used to measure the impact of programs against the outcomes they are setup to achieve.